Why Canada should dismantle its mink farms

COVID link makes industry unsafe, says Michèle Hamers.

In April 2020, when news first hit that farmed mink in the Netherlands were able to contract and transmit COVID-19 to humans, I experienced another spike of anxiety. As an immigrant from the Netherlands who made the tough decision to stay in Canada during the pandemic, this news added to my feeling of powerlessness, especially since my family and friends live in the province of North-Brabant where most mink farms are located — an area that was already heavily impacted by COVID-19. I never agreed with mink farming; it is an inherently cruel practice. Mink are wild animals, kept in tiny cages without any ability to behave naturally. Most notably, they lack any access to swimming water, which is essential for their physical and psychological well-being. Furthermore, the practice of “slimming down” female mink, providing them with less food during the winter months to ensure weight loss for mating purposes is known to cause severe anxiety. Watching images of these animals when engaging in the stress-related behaviours of captivity is heart-wrenching.

Now we know that in addition to severe animal welfare issues, mink farming is also a concern to public health. It has become apparent that mink are highly susceptible to COVID-19 and new Danish research showed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is capable of mutating in mink. A new mink-related strain has infected people in Denmark and triggered a lockdown for more than one-quarter million Danes. While virus mutations are common, this unique variant causes concern because it could threaten the success of future vaccines.

Another risk that should not be overlooked is the possibility for farmed mink to come in contact with and infect wild mink populations, as has happened with other diseases.

The list of countries reporting mink-farmrelated COVID-19 infections is growing, including Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Italy, several

A new mink-related strain has infected people in Denmark and triggered a lockdown.

states in the United States and Greece. Canadian mink farms have not been infected yet, but is this just a matter of time?

Despite the severity of the pandemic, its link to the wildlife trade and the rapid rise of outbreaks on mink farms abroad, it still feels like we are not learning from these hard lessons. It is time for the government to show true leadership, take decisive action and put a stop to this risky and cruel practice.

Let me be clear, I am not advocating for restrictions on local community subsistence use of wild animals, but keep in mind, the sole reason mink are being farmed is for their fur, a luxury product which is in declining demand. Are the potential financial and public health consequences to this farming practice really worth it? I think the answer is a clear “no.”

A 2020 Northstar poll commissioned by World Animal Protection shows that 80 per cent of Canadians are against the breeding of animals for fur; furthermore, zoonotic disease experts, health experts and many others have been calling for a precautionary approach to the wildlife trade, to adopt a holistic One Health/One Welfare approach where the welfare and health of humans, animals and the planet are prioritized in decisions we're making going forward.

We must learn from our past reactionary approaches of controlling problems versus preventing them. If the Canadian government is serious about building Canada's economy back better and more resilient, it should help this declining industry transition.

Delaying measures increases the chances of mink farm outbreaks of our own, further complicating our ability to reduce the spread of COVID-19.